About Rice ChBE

In 1921, chemical engineering became an independent program at Rice University. Over the years, our department has grown in strength, vitality and scope to be one of the nation's best.

Our faculty and their research teams focus on a variety of areas while our home in Houston provides rich resources for collaboration with industry and the Texas Medical Center. Some of our key research areas include biomolecular engineering, energy and sustainability, and materials and nanotechnology.

To provide direction to its growth and to foster an interdisciplinary research environment, our faculty play active roles in several centers and institutes in the School of Engineering and across Rice University.